Jeremy Renner has revealed how he was in a bit of a daze when he was first told he was wanted for the latest Mission: Impossible movie.

The Hurt Locker actor was hand-picked by producer and co-star Tom Cruise and director Brad Bird, for whom Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol was a change from his work on Oscar-winning animations The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

He went to meet them at the imposing Paramount offices in LA.

"There was no script, so they had to talk me through the movie and what the part was all about. During the meeting, I think I tuned out, " Jeremy confessed.

"Their mouths were just moving and I was sitting there thinking, 'This is so awesome, I'm in a room with Brad Bird, Tom Cruise and thinking about doing this movie'.

"And they're like, 'Yeah, it's going to be great' and I said, 'Yes, it sounds great, now I'm outta here, see you guys later'. Then I called Tom about 15 minutes later and said, 'Yes, of course I'd like to do it'."

It seems 2012 is going to be the actor's year, as he's playing bounty hunter Hansel alongside Gemma Arterton's Gretel in March, and Hawkeye in The Avengers in April, before he stars as Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy.

But he's humble about his burgeoning career.

"I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know what the reaction's going to be," he said. "But I'm having a good time doing them, that's for sure. I'm certainly not abandoning what I've done in the past - I'll always continue to do small, interesting movies, that's important to me."